My new life in Brussels...

The Grand place, Belgian moules(which I ate on my own with a glass of wine in a moment of bravery and independence) and some little side streets. One thing I love about Brussels is how narrow side streets can lead to vast intricately designed squares. 

I am now officially living in Brussels. Today I signed a 1 yr lease on a new flat which I will be moving into on Saturday- I AM SO EXCITED!!!

As you can see I am feeling quite enthusiastic about my new place. It's located near the Sablon area of Brussels in a quiet little backstreet with a cobbled road and trailing vines going up the side of the building. Somehow I have managed to find an affordable studio apartment with a central location that lives up to my romantic notion of living in Brussels- pretty miraculous! 

Quick summary of my new abode...It's an attic studio with whitewashed floorboards and wooden ceiling beams. It is rounded like a princess tower which gives more weight to my romantic fantasies of living in Europe. No doubt I will post hundreds of photos on here and on instagram (beckyloisburns) in the coming weeks but here are a few from the online advertisement as a little teaser..

My new job is also pretty amazing. I'm kept really busy designing prints for various different areas of menswear: formal, casual shirts and swimwear. The office itself is also a great space. The building itself is nothing particularly special but the interior has been styled in such a creative way that I just had to share it with you...

Apologies for this being so short but I have heaps to do before moving and I also need to check the catwalks and get working on some Pre-S/S 16 trend boards.

                                   

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation!!!

So..... oddly, and somewhat ironically, after broadcasting my new outlook on life about being "single and free and able to move around and blah blah blah" it seems that someone out there is calling my bluff.... on Friday I will, once again, be relocating- this time to Belgium.

I will still be working for C&A but will be transferring to their offices in Brussels. A the transfer involves moving to a different country(again!) I am getting a whole new relocation package  which includes another 3 months free rent. Finally I will be able to pay off the multiple overdrafts I procured while pursuing a design career in London- FYI to all employers in the fashion industry £15k is not a realistic salary to live in London! 

My path so far: London- Dusseldorf- Brussels.

Anyway, moving on from that slight jab at the fashion/retail industry, I am SO excited to move to Brussels. I've made a really great group of friends here in Dusseldorf who I will be sad to leave but moving countries doesn't break friendship bonds and I am in no doubt that we will stay in contact. A few of them are actually driving me to Brussels on Friday to help me move- such babes!

In preparation for the move I thought I would do some Brussels related research as all I know of Belgium is chocolate, waffles and Bruges. I was amazed to find that Brussels is home to so much amazing art nouveau architecture. Art nouveau has always been my favourite art/design movement with it's fairytale curvilinear architecture and it's loose lines/shapes. It actually surprised me to find that many of the doorways and buildings I have pinned on pinterest(yes I have a favourite architecture pinterest board) are actually located in Brussels. Geek that I am, I am already planning and Art nouveau architecture hunt around the city. At no point did I claim to be a chic fashionista type- I am an awkward geek through and through.

Brussels architecture!

Also the art. Oh the art! Rene Magritte, one of my favourite surrealist painters next to Salvador Dali, was Belgian and there is a museum of his work in Brussels. I, of course, cannot wait to go.

Magritte museum and a few of his paintings.

Seeing as I have reveled my, not so inner, geek side I can also share how excited I am to be moving to such a historical city. Brussels was founded in 969 so I am expecting it to be rich in exciting historical finds! As the capital of the EU  and home to NATO headquarters, I am hoping to meet a variety of international friends. 

So there's my most recent piece of news.....it appears I am accidentally working my way across Europe.

                                                                                 x

Bucket list and blog makeover

Once again I have not written a blog post in a really long time, since I moved to Germany actually which was almost 3 months ago. As a result my daily views have plummeted, which I completely understand- why would anyone want to look at a blog with no new content. Truth be told I haven't really felt like blogging since I arrived here. I wanted to live my life for a while without feeling any responsibility to posting regularly(not that I've ever been very good at that)and sometimes, especially recently, I question if there is even any point in me blogging at all. Although I get a lot of page views, I don't seem to have very many followers which can be quite disheartening. There are so many blogs out there nowadays that it is increasingly hard to stand out from the rest and create some form of blog identity. This is something I'm going to be working on over the coming months.

Anyway I have put these disheartening thoughts to one side.I miss blogging and enjoy writing- it's my guilty pleasure so regardless of who follows/doesn't follow me I'm going to get back into posting. I never get to write in my day job, it's mainly spent drawing and manipulating images on adobe photoshop, so blogging is my outlet. With this new/recycled(as I've definitely said this before)outlook I'm hoping that one day I will get into the habit of regularly posting- it's on my bucket list.

Speaking of which, I thought I would share some of my newly edited bucket list on here. I made one when I was 18 but it lay dormant in one of my many journals until it recently resurfaced in a spring/summer clean. Here's a teaser...

Recently I've been feeling fairly discouraged about being 24 and completely single. So many/almost all of my close friends are in long term relationships and one by one I am seeing girls I went to school with getting engaged/married/having children while I drift around dwelling on my marital status. I have decided it's time to change my outlook.

Society, Films(Disney in particular) and the media guides us to believe we need someone else to complete us. "You're nobody 'til somebody loves you", although just a song lyric this is an accepted idea despite being both ridiculous and detrimental when trying to live a happy, fulfilling life. I am not half a person. I am not incomplete. I do not need another person to make my life worth living. One day I will meet someone who has personality traits and attributes that compliment my own, someone who I can share my WHOLE and COMPLETE life with. Until then I am unattached; tied down to nothing and free to live the kind of selfish, guilt free life that can only be lived as a single 20 something year old. 

This is why I have written my bucket list- it will give me some direction and remind me that single life doesn't have to be a curse, it can be a blessing. I'm going to use the next however many years to see the world, soak up every possible experience and become a more knowledgeable and well rounded person. As part of this (No. 100) I have also decided to read 52 new books in a year- starting from 15.06.15.I'm currently getting stuck into George Orwell's '1984' but would love suggestions on what else to add to my list of 52! 

x

P.S. New outlook=new log design. Let me know your thoughts on the makeover!